Conflict Minerals in the DRC & Fairphone

I wrote my MA thesis (click here if, for some odd reason, you want to read it) on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More specifically, I wrote about how the conflict there had been and still was exacerbated (to put it mildly) by the presence of certain minerals - tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold - that are necessary components in the wonderful technology that people around the world use every day (e.g. mobile phones and computers). Here's the abstract for those of you who don't want to read the whole 80-something pages (which is probably everyone except for my parents) but who want an  idea of the research:

"In 2003, a system of requirements for controlling rough diamond production and trade called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) officially entered into force. The KPCS was developed to ensure that diamond purchases were no longer funding violent conflict [if you've seen the movie 'Blood Diamond' - that's what I'm referring to]. The intent of this paper is twofold: first, to analyze the effectiveness of the KPCS and second, to examine its replicability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where several different kinds of minerals are contributing to violent conflict. This paper finds that while the KPCS is relatively effective in reducing the negative effects of conflict diamonds, it could be strengthened in several ways to further improve its effectiveness. Given its overall effectiveness, however, this paper concludes that certification schemes can be an effective way to mitigate the negative effects of resources in general and that the DRC would benefit from a KPCS-like certification scheme."

I wrote this paper in 2011, when no such certification scheme existed. It still doesn't exist, at least not in the form of a KPCS-like scheme. However, there have been a proliferation of national, international, industry-led, and entrepreneurial responses to this conflict mineral crisis, including:

• Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act - US law meant to ensure that US companies who source minerals from the DRC are not contributing to the perpetuation of the conflict there
• the ITRI (International Tin Research Institute) Tin Supply Chain Initiative - a tracking system specifically for tin
• the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas - overall guidance for companies to promote  respect for human rights, to avoid contributing to conflict, and to cultivate transparent mineral supply chains, which contains a supplement on tin, tantalum, and tungsten tailored to the challenges associated with these minerals’ supply chains
• the Conflict-Free Smelter (CFS) protocol - a voluntary program for smelters who implement the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance that aims to enable responsible mineral sourcing through evaluating the source and conflict-free status of minerals used

The above are just examples of some of the initiatives that are being used to try to end the resource-driven conflict in the DRC. One of the most interesting responses, in my opinion, is that of Fairphone. Fairphone is a Dutch company that is making smartphones using socially- and environmentally-friendly practices. On their website, they show evidence that they:

1. use conflict-free resources to make their phones
2. pay fair wages to all workers involved in the making and selling process
3. work to reduce e-waste (finding better ways to deal with electronics that have reached the end of their lifespan)

Of course, they also advertise the technical specs and design of their smartphones (people may want to do good, but they also want to buy a good smartphone). The phones themselves are expensive (€325 each), but Fairphone also has a pretty detailed cost-breakdown pdf that explains how they got to the price and where each € goes. Doing good isn't cheap.

I am encouraged that there is actually a waiting list for these phones. It not only says that people care about the DRC specifically (and fair business practices generally), it also means that the product is a good smartphone. I hope that Fairphone is so successful that other companies follow suit. Rather than grudgingly following laws or signing up for certification schemes, that companies start to see being responsible and fair as a good business practice. 

Finally, conflict resources are not limited to just diamonds and minerals. There are plenty of other resources that are being used to promote conflict, violence, or good old-fashioned political repression. Maybe the lessons learned here can be applied elsewhere, too.  Wouldn't that be lovely?